Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol by Quinolinium Bromochromate

Abstract

Quinolinium bromochromate (QBC) oxidizes benzyl alcohol and in the presence of acid to give aldehyde. The reaction is showing first order dependence on [oxidant] and [H+] ion and fractional order dependence with respect to [substrate].The rate increases with decrease in the dielectric constant of the medium and increase in ionic strength has negligible effect on the rate. The reaction does not induce polymerization of acrylonitrile indicating the absence of free radical pathway. The added Mn2+ increases with decrease the reaction rate to involve the two electron transfer process involved in the reaction. A suitable mechanism is proposed.